While the school calendar for this year is still being finalised it is likely that there will be three normal-length terms each of 60 teaching days, meaning exceptionally short school holidays once weekends and public holidays have been taken into account.

Already yesterday, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said schools would not break for the traditional first school holidays incorporating the Easter and Independence Day holidays, but there would be no classes on these public holidays.

Normally when schools can open for the first term early in January the first term ends shortly before the big batch of late March and April public holidays with the second term ending just before the Heroes and Defence Forces long weekend.

The school calendar is likely to be finalised this week.

With almost 12 weeks of the year taken up before most classes resume on March 22, a week after the three examination years return on March 15, and with each term being over 12 weeks once public holidays are counted in, there appears to be only around a total of three to four weeks for the three school holidays this year.

Representatives of school heads yesterday welcomed the phased re-opening later this month, but said that some cash-strapped schools were still short of personal protective equipment.

Government wants to ensure a safe re-opening of schools in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and recently completed a monitoring exercise on the preparedness of schools to conduct classes without risking a spike in infections.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said it was encouraged by the innovations of some schools to use other spaces like halls and common rooms for classes in compliance with social distancing regulations.

Under the guidelines, classes need to be split or otherwise rearranged to have smaller numbers to allow more space between pupils.

The ministry also allayed fears of possible rent-seeking behaviour by schools increasing fees and gave assurance that social distancing protocols would not result in learners losing their places.

“Some schools have been innovative in utilising other spaces within the schools for classes, spaces like common rooms and halls to ensure adherence to social distancing regulations,” said the Ministry’s spokesperson Mr Taungana Ndoro.- The Herald